Two days after Philadelphia got buried in nearly two feet of snow in late January, Zachary Devereux Fairbrother, guitarist and singer of Lantern, is dressed for the weather. He walks into a Point Breeze coffee shop suited in a scarf, shin-height galoshes and his hood pulled atop his head. The cold is visibly lingering on him as he peels away the layers of clothing around his face. Emily Robb, Lantern’s bass player and singer, walks in shortly thereafter and performs the same peeling routine.

Lucky for them, neither were hindered much by the blizzard at their west and south Philly homes, respectively.

The snowfall came a little less than a month before the release of their second full-length album, Black Highways and Green Garden Roads. It’s an album recorded in 22 non-sequential days at The Bottle Garden in Montreal, Canada, over a year and a half. Lantern, a blues rock-leaning proto-punk three-piece, made a conscious decision to record the new album a bit differently than they had for 2013’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Rorschach — strictly to analog tape.

“We were working with only eight tracks,” says Fairbrother. “That sort of put an inherent structure on how we would go on with the arrangements and mixing.”

Robb adds as if finishing Fairbrother’s thought, “It kind of locks you in a little more. Working with tape really informs the process because it’s not limitless. If you’re working with Pro Tools you can have as many tracks as you want.”

Recording in this nature forced the band to be more, “ruthless,” as Fairbrother puts it, in what takes they decided would make it onto the album. He likens it to the “paradox of choice” theory, a line of thinking coined by Swarthmore psychology professor Barry Schwartz, in which consumers experience less anxiety when there are fewer choices while shopping.

“In a way it’s more constructive to have [fewer options] because you’re not hung up on choice,” he says. “It makes you commit to decisions. It’s a bit more wabi-sabi in that there are mistakes and you let those things be the charm of what it is you’re making.”

Maybe it’s fair to say Black Highways and Green Garden Roads is a warts-and-all effort. However, any imperfections are essentially only audible to the band; hidden by the live feel of the album as a whole, a vibe that comes from Fairbrother, Robb and drummer Christian Simmons, just jamming in the studio until they’d get the best take. And that may sound gutsy to some, since recording straight to tape means a limited amount of physical tape to record onto. But Lantern embraced that sort of spontaneity.

“They were open to rolling the dice,” says Peter Woodford, engineer of the album, over the phone from his hometown of Montreal just days after traveling to the Philly area to buy a tape machine. With Woodford’s recording experience, Lantern employed some unconventional techniques to capture certain overdubs. One included Robb and Simmons each spinning a microphone in opposite directions in front of the amp that Fairbrother shredded through the guitar solo on “BLK HWYS.”

“It’s kind of physically panning,” Woodford says. “It kind of creates the effect of a Leslie speaker. But there will be random moments where the microphones are in front of the speakers at the same time. It doesn’t sound like a (phaser) pedal, it’s different every time.”

Woodford found that method in an old book about recording. He’s also responsible for supplying the two reels of tape they’d recorded onto, which were from the early 1970s. And despite having a little more hiss than modern tape, it wasn’t problematic for Lantern.

Given the amount of old-school approaches they’d taken for Black Highways and Green Garden Roads, the 14-song LP ultimately vibes that way, eyeing bluesy neo-psych more than anything they’d released prior. Fairbrother and Robb say that Simmons had packed their iPod with loads of British invasion and 60s era pop after touring in support of Rorschach. The time period’s influence is clear and groove-fully executed on the flower power psych of “He Is a Pinball.” They can see for miles down “Another Turn,” and “Black & Green” rests on top of a surrealistic pillow. The snake charming and whirly “Dervish,” could’ve easily stomped its way right out of Bron-Yr-Aur. Black Highways and Green Garden Roads isn’t a period piece though. Lantern returns to form more on the muddy “Green Garden Road,” and rail-riding “Gravel.”

Vocals are a major part of the album. The band intentionally wanted to challenge themselves by recording all background harmonies as a group singing into one mic. Their take on the Solomon Burke classic, “Cry to Me,” dips a toe in doo-wop as Lantern altered its time signature from the soulful four beats per measure to a heartstring-tugging 6/8 time, highlighting Robb’s passionate singing.

Fairbrother says they wanted to challenge themselves by stepping up their singing efforts. That’s the obvious difference on the album, but the tape loops found throughout the album are really what add nuance to each song individually. And some of them took a little extra ingenuity to accomplish.

“We made an incredibly long tape loop on the song ‘Happy,’” Robb says while gesturing to make a room-sized example with her hands. “It was running through the tape machine and it was so long that we set up a mic stand [for it to run through and into the machine] … and we were live mixing it in so we would just use the fader.”

Fairbrother goes on to explain another tape-related story for “Dervish” where they flipped the tape over so it’d be backwards and played it at half speed. Then when he recorded his guitar part at the normal speed it actually sounds really sped up.

Both he and Woodford share the same sentiment toward working with the tape and its labor of love effort it requires. Woodford says it’s the things like taking a razor blade to the tape for splicing that keeps detailed recording like this from being more played out. And Fairbrother enjoys that aspect of it.

“What’s cool about tape is that you can physically do these things as opposed to just clicking a button,” Fairbrother says. “It’s very malleable, you have to do something with your hands.”

But perhaps it goes beyond bearing the fruits of their labor and considering that maybe there was something that struck a chord in the band while working in The Bottle Garden studio. And interestingly enough, a heartbroken vibe can be picked up after a few spins through Black Highways and Green Garden Roads when you consider the lyrics of “Wait, Wait,” “Don’t Worry Baby (It Won’t be Long)” and the aforementioned song they covered.

When asked about working with Lantern on the album, Woodford sounds like he was able to see it clearly from an outsider’s perspective.

“I thought they were pretty inspired when they were recording,” he says.

Lantern’s Black Highways and Green Garden Roads is out this Friday, February 19th, on Fixture Records and Sophomore Lounge. Listen to the entire album stream here, via Noisey.

Philly rock trio Lantern have been a bit quiet the past year or so, while bassist-vocalist Emily Robb pursued her indie-punk four-piece Louie Louie and guitarist-vocalist Zachary Devereux Fairbrother dabbled in psychedelic guitar soundscapes. But we’re psyched to report that the raw and rowdy rock trio is back in action; the band releases its new Black Highways And Green Garden Roads on February 19th. It’s out via cassette label Future Records and on vinyl via Sophomore Lounge, and Brooklyn Vegan just premiered the first single yesterday.

The song, recorded at The Bottle Garden in Fairbrother’s hometown of Montreal, is distinctly different in tone from Lantern’s 2013 LP Rock ‘N’ Roll Rorschach. If that album was The Stooges, this album is Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd – or so the lead single “We Are Hear” is sounding – and we’re 100% on board with all those weird and wonderful otherworldly trappings.

Philadelphia is a city of many wonders: a buzzing food scene, an established craft beer culture, and a parade of historical landmarks. But one aspect of our city that we are particularly passionate about is our magnificent local music community and all that is has to offer. Here at The Key, we often focus on the particulars of our scene – where artists will be playing each night, brand new local releases, etc. – so much so that we can forget how overwhelming it can be for newcomers to get their bearings.

So for those of you having trouble finding where to start, we are introducing this new Philly Music 101 series as your guide through the wonderful world of the Philadelphia music scene: all of its passionate, loving members, from artists to venues to studios and more. It’s meant to help new fans navigate the scene as much as emerging musicians looking to break in and behind-the-scenes folks trying to get their start. We hope it will illuminate just what makes it so damn exciting for music lovers to live here. To kick it off, here is a by-no-means-complete overview of the different pieces of the Philadelphia music scene that have come together to make up its sturdy foundation.

Photo by David Gerz via West Philadelphia Orchestra Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/west-philadelphia-orchestra/10002971276)

We encompass so many genres and have supportive fans for each: from folk to indie-pop to hip-hop to punk.

Although we were bummed at the loss of our beloved Golden Tea House, the do-it-yourself mindset is alive and very well in Philadelphia. We continue to have an amazing array of DIY venues and local support initiatives that prioritize the needs of musicians with a vision on a budget.

Our underground punk scene has been lauded on the national level, like that time Noisey ran a piece on Philadelphia having the best punk scene in the U.S. Yeah, that article was one back-handed compliment after another, but it featured some of the bright emerging bands from the Philadelphia punk community and was, at it’s core, a positive commentary on our close-knit underground punk music scene.

But perhaps we don’t need the opinion of a New Yorker to validate our fine city: RedBull spoke with localite Greg Barnett, lead singer of The Menzingers, about what exactly is making our punk scene so prolific:

“The music community’s very supportive, and there’s no competition. We help each other out, go to each other’s shows, help each other get shows. We sit in backyards with guitars and help our friends finish songs, and they help us with ours. Everybody’s in it together.”

The Philly music community is really that – a community – and thanks to this mindset, bands are able to gain access to audiences who are excited to hear what they have to put out since the fans are just as dedicated to the music scene as the artists are. All of that enthusiasm is what makes the scene so successful. Emily Robb, of Philly-based rock n’ roll band Lantern, put it simply in an interview with It’s Psychadelic Baby Magazine:

It’s a very supportive community. You can go to a local show and see at least half your friends there…I would say it’s almost impossible to not be a part of the scene.

And Robb isn’t the only one noticing our support system in Philadelphia: local hip hop artist Chill Moody mentioned to us late last year that the drive behind our music community is what is gaining us that attention:

Everyone is working hard, from the artist to the journalist covering the scene, and it seems like everyone is finally on one accord. We all want our city to shine, and it’s showing.

Something fantastic happens when the people of Philadelphia come together to share music as an experience and not just as a product to be consumed. These dedicated folks build the strong foundation that our kickass music scene relies on.

Kindness | Photo by Brittany Salerno

But we’re equally supportive of visiting & touring artists

Kindness, a UK singer / songwriter known offstage as Adam Bainbridge, has openly stated that Philadelphia inspired him for his project, even naming it based on a lesson he learned in the city. MTV spoke with him as he explained:

“When I started recording in Philadelphia, the people there were really open and generous and it was a quality I liked most about who I was meeting,” he says. “The name was trying to kick back against that ‘it’s cool to be cruel’ attitude. I was like, ‘F*** that, it’s even better to be open-minded and real and not give a shit if it’s unfashionable.”

This open and encouraging mindset is what makes for a positive artistic perspective and our city has become known for it, especially when looking at the gender confines that many other cities’ music scenes have. In our piece on PhilaMOCA’s She Shreds showcase, Cynthia Schemmer, the managing editor of She Shreds and member of Philly’s Radiator Hospital, elaborated on how Philadelphia posed a different mindset than her former home of New York:

“I feel like every show I go to there’s a band of women or there’s a woman in a band. I just feel like it’s way more supportive than the scene I was involved with in New York and definitely way more encouraging.”

The way that Philadelphia embraces other artists is something that has created a kinship in the music scene here, making it the unique entity that it is.

Our music venues allow for musicians to climb the music totem pole, all in one magnificent city.

From Johnny Brenda’s to World Cafe Live to Union Transfer and The Electric Factory, Philly has so many opportunities for artists to expand their audiences solely through performance spaces. The pursuit of a venue can be tough on up-and-coming musicians; However, in Philly, there are venues all over the city that fill a particular niche which allows for artists to grow their audiences and slowly move up the chain. (Think I’m kidding? How about that recent sold-out War on Drugs show at The Tower Theater?). Philly indie rock group Sonnderexplained toFrom The Depths Entertainment that these venues are a huge help for smaller artists in the scene:

There is a lot of music happening in Philadelphia. Pretty much every genre is represented in some way, shape, or form. There are a lot of small venues, too, that cater to helping that small independent artist get on their feet and find themselves as a performer.

Having a wide variety of performance spaces allows artists to find the room for them. Additionally, a lot of Philadelphia music spaces – Boot & Saddle, MilkBoy and Bourbon & Branch being just a few – span a spectrum of genres, hosting artists that range from hip-hop to folk, allowing up-and-coming artists to be heard without bias to genre.

Philadelphia has many glowing qualities that have attracted the 1.5 million people that live here – the food, the beer, the sports. But it’s important to note that what’s happening in our music scene is something really special and these reasons we just listed only skim the surface. From our supportive fans to network of venues, our music scene is thriving. If you need any more convincing, stay tuned for future segments every few weeks that will spotlight more of the aspects of Philadelphia’s thriving scene.

Philly blues-punk outfit Lantern will headline Johnny Brenda’s this evening. The three piece rock outfit have proven that rock and roll is most definitely not dead in Philly. With a distortion-induced sound similar to that of Dan Aurbach, the group has an ability to come out with instant hits that will stick in your head. Their most recent album, Rock n’ Roll Rorschach, received much attention locallly and nationally; Tiny Mix Tapes called their sound “a blessing of garage noir”. Check out their music video for “King Of The Jungle” below and find tickets and more information on XPN’s Concert Calendar.

Irish singer-songwriter Imelda May will be taking the stage at Union Transfer tonight. Known for her bluesy rockabilly style and unique vocals, May released her most recent album Tribal this past April and will surely be putting on a lively show tonight. For tickets and more information, click here and check out her music video below for “It’s Good To Be Alive”

Ambient electronic artist Christopher Willits plays First Unitarian Church’s Side Chapel this evening. Noted for his layered, powerful soundscapes, Willits has just released his latest album, Opening, earlier this month with an accompanying full-length video that he directed and filmed himself. You can find more information on tonight’s show by heading over to the XPN Concert Calendar. Check out his music video for his track “Opening” below.